Justin Langer Backs Rishabh Pant for Redemption in Crucial IPL Season

Pant has been the all-time most expensive player in the IPL with price tag of Rs 27 crore. This season is being seen as make-or-break for the swashbuckling left-hander as he battles competition from KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson, who have outpaced him to become India's first-choice keeper-batter options in ODIs and T20Is respectively.

Speaking during the pre-match presser, Langer said, "Well, Rishabh Pant is at his best. He is smiling, he is competitive, throwing punches and being aggressive. You all saw that game (against RCB) last year, that was brilliant. But Rishabh knows, just like every other Indian player (of competition in white-ball sides). India just won a World Cup. Try being an Indian selector or a coach, you could have three international teams."

"So every player, whether someone experienced like Pant or the youngster who played for Rajasthan last night (Vaibhav Suryavanshi), that they are pushing to be selected. There is pressure, and that is good. The diamonds will rise. He is batting well, he has got amazing people around him to support him and bring the best out of him," he added.

Pant has been an effective players in Tests, scoring impactful innings in crunch situations.

Despite Pant's heroics in Tests, he has scored just 1,209 runs in 66 innings at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of 127.26 in T20Is, with three fifties.

In ODIs, he has made 871 runs in 31 matches and 27 innings at an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of 106.21, including a century and five fifties. He last played an ODI for India against Sri Lanka in August 2024, scoring just six runs.

The left-hander, whose blazing IPL seasons in 2017 and 2018 with Delhi Capitals launched him into superstardom, will be aiming to make most of the work done on his fitness and training sessions with legendary cricketer Yuvraj Singh as he eyes a redemption after a 269-run season last year, out of which 118* came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the last league stage game.

Langer, a former Australian opener, spoke on how he has spent his entire career being under pressure, and he "loves it".

"There is pressure every season, but I've been doing this for a long time. I have had pressure on me for 30 years. Every time I batted, there was pressure on me. Every time I have coached a side, there has been pressure on me every time for 30 years. So is there pressure? No different than usual. I love pressure, and there should be pressure," he said.

"I am the head coach. That is leadership. There should be pressure. But do I feel it? I just do what I have done for 30 years, and I promise you that in 30 years, it has been pretty successful. And I hope all my results as a player and a coach have proven that," he signed off.

- ANI